


Us Tarsus Kids

by scarscarchurro



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Mentioned; Kevin Riley/Pavel Chekov, Platonic Bonding, Tarsus IV mentioned, last night at least, mentioned; James T. Kirk/Leonard "Bones" McCoy/Spock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-28 23:12:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13914177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarscarchurro/pseuds/scarscarchurro
Summary: Kevin escapes to Engineering because he is having a hard day.





	Us Tarsus Kids

**Author's Note:**

> *sleepy finger guns* I'm just tired we have company over and my battery is drained. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this thing I wrote late last night.

Kevin had a life on the Enterprise. It wasn't much of a life when you forcibly took command from your Captain in an induced state of madness from a simple mineral in water from an ice planet, that also made you profess your undying love for the cutest boy on the Enterprise, then almost dying because your Captain let's a killer and his murderous daughter onto the Enterprise. 

Kevin almost wished he had stayed in bed that shift. Almost wished he was still pressed against the cool surface of the bulkhead and tangled in the warm limbs of Pav. Almost wished he wasn't always confined to the sometimes all too small spaces of the Enterprise or the navigation console. 

Wished he was on the same shift as Pav today. If only to hear the russian babble about incorrect ‘Russian inwentions’. 

He also wished he hadn't climbed down to engineering to just sit with his legs shoved into the railings, feet pressed against the top of the machinery, and his stare level with the other wall. 

He wished he wasn't remembering Tarsus all too well after the Kodos incident. That had been weeks ago yet Kevin was struggling with it today. Maybe what it came down to was that he wanted to tell Pav about an experience he could barely remember. 

Kevin wondered if he was going to be demoted back down to engineering because he wasn’t at his post. His heart jumped and he gasped when someone plopped down next to him. 

“I’m sorry,” said Jim in his chartreuse green monstrosity wrap, “Did you want to be alone?” The Captain looked ragged, dull, with set circles and darkness under his eyes. Kevin remembers a clipped version of their positions back on Tarsus. Back then Kevin was certain JT had been offering him a nutrient bar that had been taken from Kodos’ own vault. 

Kevin looked down at his hands and rubbed them together. “I don't know what I want.” He grimaced and glanced quickly over to Scotty who was off in the distance possibly working on the engines or the transporter lines. 

“Do you want to transfer?” asked Jim. 

Kevin didn't look at his Captain just felt his chest clench and his breath catch. “No, it’s been weeks.” He loved the Enterprise and he loved the people he worked with. 

“It has,” said Jim. 

Kevin dared a glance at his Captain to find the older man was blankly also staring at Scotty. “I don't know what I hate more.” 

Jim stiffened and tilted his head at Kevin. “Whatcha mean?” 

Kevin frowned and shifted so his knees were closer to him and less dangling from between the railings. “The fact that you’re talking to me or the fact that I'm remembering something I wasn't old enough to remember.” 

They grew silent. 

A teenage JT and thirty four year old Captain Kirk blended together in his mind. Both versions staring off into the distance with unreadable expressions that possibly held compassion and fear.

“I’m seeing ghosts.” Kevin shoved his knees through the railing once again and pressed his forehead to the bars. “You going to say anything, sir?” 

“I was afraid,” said Jim with a heavy swallow, “Of bringing up anything.”

Kevin looked over. “Captain James T. Kirk afraid?” JT had rarely shown any fear back on Tarsus IV, and Kevin now knew it was because James T. Kirk didn’t want to talk about himself. Specifically feelings. “Why are you in engineering, sir?”

The Captain had his hands around the bars of the railing, his head rested against the hand, and he let out a sigh. “You’re not the only one hiding from your partner, Lieutenant.” 

Kevin’s eyes widened slowly. “Which one?” Kevin wasn't hiding from Pav. Was he?

The Captain bit his lower lip. “Mister Spock, Bones already knows not to pry.” 

“I’m not hiding from, Pav,” said Kevin, slowly, and with furrowed brows. He quickly looked back down. 

“Kevin.” 

Kevin stiffened, looked up, slowly, and over to Jim. Then he frowned. 

“Don't be me,” said Jim with soft eyes. “Don't bottle it all up and release it in one big show.” 

“You are pretty dramatic, sir,” said Kevin with a grimace. “It'd be hard to be you even if I were trying.” 

Jim narrowed his eyes at Kevin. “Do you want to go back to engineering, Lieutenant?” 

“No, sir,” said Kevin with his back straight. 

Jim nodded. “Then don't be me.” Jim’s hand reached out and he patted Kevin on the back. “Talk to Chekov.” 

Kevin took in a deep breath and leaned into the railing again. “I’ll tell him if you tell Commander Spock and Doctor McCoy.” 

Jim made a noise low in his throat. He wrapped his arm around Kevin and pulled the younger into a hug. “You drive a hard bargain, Lieutenant.” 

Kevin looked over to his Captain and gave a small smile. “Us Tarsus kids.” 

Jim’s eyes crinkled in a smile that didn't reach his eyes. “Us Tarsus kids.”

They were quiet before Kevin said, “You aren’t going to tell them are you?”

“You’ll have to force me to, Lieutenant.”

**Author's Note:**

> I love Kevin Riley okay.


End file.
